Published in the September 4, 2015 edition
MELROSE — Melrose is bucking a statewide trend in foreclosure petitions. While they continue to increase across the Commonwealth, here in Melrose they are actually going down.
Foreclosure petitions in the Bay State rose in July, increasing 49 percent compared with July 2014, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. This marks the 17th consecutive month of increases in petition filings.
According to The Warren Group, there was one petition for foreclosure filed by lenders in July in Melrose, which is one less than in July 2014. There have been six petitions for foreclosure this year, representing a 50 percent decrease from the 12 petitions filed in 2014. There have been six auctions this year. One deed has been filed, which is six less than last year.
“Foreclosures continue to climb after a few years of very low activity as lenders catch up with regulatory changes,” said Cassidy Murphy, editorial director at The Warren Group. “While these numbers are higher relative to last year, the steady increase does not yet represent a cause for alarm.”
Lenders filed 1,044 petitions to foreclose in July this year, compared with 702 filed in July 2014. There have been 6,360 petitions filed year to date in Massachusetts, a 60 percent increase from last year’s mark through July. Petitions note the first step in the foreclosure process, when banks petition the state courts for the right to foreclose.
Statewide, 386 foreclosure deeds were filed in July, a 77 percent increase from the 218 filed in July last year. There have been a total of 2,416 deeds filed in Massachusetts in 2015, a 27 percent increase from the 1,897 filed through July 2014. Deeds represent completed foreclosures, when banks inform the registry of deeds that there has been a change in the ownership of the foreclosed property.
The Warren Group tracked 574 auction announcements last month, a 1.5 percent decrease from the 584 filed in July 2014. There have been 3,761 auctions in Massachusetts year to date, a 35 percent increase from the same stretch in 2014 when there were 2,789. An auction is a bank’s declaration that efforts to repair the loan with the borrower have failed, and the property will go up for auction.
The Warren Group has recorded and tracked real estate transactions since 1872. The fourth-generation family-owned company uses its long-time leadership in Boston real estate and banking information to produce specialized reports and news publications, including “Banker & Tradesman and “The Commercial Record.”
With more than 140 years as a local business leader, The Warren Group has developed relationships with a variety of industry leaders and trade groups, including bankers, mortgage brokers, credit unions and lawyers. Working together with our partners, The Warren Group organizes trade shows and industry events, including The Bank Summit, coming in October. For more information about The Warren Group, visit www.thewarrengroup.com.
